Continued job growth in Top of Utah
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Jeff DeMoss
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
J
ob growth in the Top of Utah continued to improve last month, reaching 4 percent for the first time in nine months and bolstering an overall Utah economy that refuses to slow down despite some moderation at the national level.
After three consecutive months at 4.5 percent -- well above the state's long-term average of 3.3 percent -- job growth in Utah spiked to 4.7 percent in July, solidifying its place atop the nation in economic performance, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
The state unemployment rate measured 2.7 percent for July, up from 2.6 percent in June and an all-time low of 2.3 percent in February, but still low when compared with the nationwide rate of 4.6 percent.
"Utah stands alone as the nation's best performing economy," DWS Senior Economist Mark Knold said. "Utah's employment growth continues to noticeably outdistance all other states."
Knold said Utah's ability to sustain such high job growth and low unemployment comes from a combination of trend and luck. The state's high birth rate, coupled with increasing in-migration from other states, has contributed to a cycle in which a population boom gives the economy a boost, and the economic growth in turn attracts more population growth.
Also, Utah has managed to avoid the downturn in the housing market that has affected much of the nation in recent months, Knold said.
"The trend is long-term population growth," he said. "The luck comes in having so far avoided any economic pitfalls that might knock us out of this cycle."
The slack from a recent drop-off in new housing permits has been picked up by a boom in commercial and industrial construction, helping the construction sector retain its spot as the state's fastest-growing and most job-creating industry.
Across all sectors, the Utah economy created about 56,800 jobs from July 2006 through July 2007, according to DWS. Approximately 36,000 Utahns were unemployed last month, down from 38,300 a year earlier.
Knold said Utah will continue to see strong growth in the near future, with the boom in nonresidential construction creating homes for new businesses that will provide new jobs for new residents.
Outside experts echo Knold's optimism. Ernie Goss, an economics professor at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. who conducts a monthly survey of supply managers in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, predicted in his most recent report that Utah's unemployment rate will dip to 2.3 percent by October.
Goss forecasts that in the three months ending Sept. 30, Utah will account for 63 percent of all new jobs in the three-state region.
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